Cary Countryman's Lecture

Today Dr.Countryman came to give us a lecture on how to create an effective website, because our beloved teacher Brother Draper decided to go on a vacation in the Mormon Land. Surprisingly, I missed him. Anyway, I learned a lot from Dr.Countryman! Especially, since I am a webmaster for @RTIMOS Productions.

Dr.Countryman gave many examples of both effective and ineffective websites. One of the things which I really like is that the Web site should be simple and avoid using too many complex multimedia features or technology tricks. I tend to do that, putting a lot of multimedia features on my web site, which look cool to me; but not in others' view. However, having "Magic" (as used by Dr.Countryman) on the web site will add a lot more to audience's experience. So, I went home and added the countdown clock on @RTIMOS web site, to remind people about the upcoming benefit concert in Honolulu.

I have noticed that my web site is quite slow. Dr.Countryman offered a possible solution indirectly through his lecture that using pictures under 40kb in size and GIF format can make the web site load faster; and to keep text simple and to a minimum. So, I have been adjusting my images on the website and try to make it look clean and simple, yet attractive.

Another important aspect to consider when making a web site is the targeted audience. Dr.Countryman suggested that the web site will be more effective if it's divided up by customer segments. For example, it would be wise for you to know how Japanese people read or navigate the website, because according to the way they read they do from right to left. I thought that was very interesting and true.

These are just a few examples of how to make an effective website from Dr. Countryman. I was very excited to listen to him. So, I guess having Brother... oh no... Dr. Draper away for a week isn't so bad after all. :)